Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to a photoalignment agent, a photoalignment layer, a liquid crystal display device, and a manufacturing method thereof.
Discussion of the Background
In a liquid crystal element, to display images, that is, to switch liquid crystals between sheets of transparent conductive glass through an external electrical field, the liquid crystals must be aligned in a predetermined direction at the interface between the liquid crystals and the transparent conductive glass. The degree of uniformity of the liquid crystal alignment is an important factor for determining the display quality of the liquid crystal display device.
In the conventional method of aligning the liquid crystals, a rubbing method where a polymer layer such as a polyimide is coated on a substrate such as glass and the surface is rubbed in a predetermined direction by using a fiber material such as nylon or polyester is used. However, minute particles or an electrostatic discharge (ESD) may be generated when the fiber material and the polymer layer are rubbed against each other, and they may cause a serious problem during the manufacturing of the liquid crystal panel.
To solve this problem, a photoalignment method where anisotropy is induced to the polymer layer by light irradiation to align the liquid crystals has been researched.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.